![]() Young continuously drove past Green into the paint, at which point he made the Sixers pay with an array of floaters, lob passes for dunks and kick-outs to shooters for open opportunities. Instead of going with either of them, though, Rivers started out with Green on Young, and he didn't alter that approach despite the fact Young absolutely torched the veteran guard throughout the first half. In Ben Simmons and Matisse Thybulle, the Sixers have two of the best perimeter defenders in the entire NBA, and two players whose length and athleticism could potentially make things difficult on Young. The first questionable decision was to use Danny Green as the primary defender on Trae Young for the vast majority of the first half. Rivers made a couple of questionable decisions early in the game that ultimately doomed the Sixers. ![]() Questionable coaching by Doc Rivers in the first halfĬoaching is especially important in the postseason, and unfortunately for Philadelphia, Doc Rivers didn't have his best game on Sunday. ![]() They weren't able to pull out the win, but they have to feel much better moving forward knowing they can get performances like that out of Embiid. The fact Embiid was able to play and looked largely healthy while doing so was one of the major positives for the Sixers in Game 1. By the end of the game, he was giving up his body and diving on the floor to make plays for Philly: More importantly, he didn't appear to be too hampered by the knee injury. ![]() He shot 57 percent from the floor, grabbed nine rebounds and added four assists and three blocks. He played more minutes (38) than anyone else in the game, and also scored more points (39) than anyone else. He looked a whole lot like his usual MVP-caliber self. Less than half an hour before tip time on Sunday, the mystery came to an end as it was announced Embiid would not only play, but start. As such, there was some serious speculation regarding whether or not he would be good to go. The big man missed the closeout game against the Wizards in the first round after suffering a minor meniscus tear in his right knee during Game 4 of that series, and he was considered day-to-day heading into the second round. The biggest storyline heading into the series was Embiid's health. Injured Joel Embiid looked like MVP Joel Embiid Young has been absolutely dynamic in these playoffs so far, and if the Sixers can't do a better job of limiting his production moving forward, they'll have a tough time winning the series. Though he was limited to just 10 points and three assists in the second half, he had already helped the Hawks build such a large lead that they were able to hold on for the win. Young had 12 points and five assists in the first quarter, and followed that up with 13 points and two more assists in the second quarter. Young came out of the gate in attack mode in Game 1, and his early production set the tone for what turned out to be a big win for the Hawks. Trae Young played as well as anyone in the first round of the playoffs, and that streak of strong play continued in the East semifinals. Trae Young continues to make NBA history this postseason Before moving on to that game, though, here's a look at three key takeaways from Atlanta's Game 1 win. However, neither team can afford to dwell on this one for too long, as the series resumes Tuesday night for Game 2. While Sixers fans were certainly happy to see him out on the floor, his production wasn't quite enough to help Philadelphia pull out a win in this one.Įven though they almost gave it away at the end, the Hawks have to feel good about stealing a game in Philadelphia. Embiid started for the Sixers, played a game-high 38 minutes and scored a game-high 39 points to go along with nine rebounds, four assists and three blocks. One huge question regarding the series was answered before Game 1 even started: Would Joel Embiid play? He did, despite suffering a small tear in his meniscus against the Wizards. He also got some major help from John Collins and Bogdan Bogdanović, as that duo combined for 42 points and eight rebounds. In the process, Young became the first Hawks player ever to record 35 points and 10 assists in a playoff game. Young lit the Sixers up for 25 points and seven assists in the first half alone, and finished the game with 35 points and 10 assists. Just as he did against the New York Knicks in the first round, Trae Young led the way for Atlanta, especially early on. There was an error processing your subscription.
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